What is quality assurance

RAL quality assurance RAL-GZ 716 is a marking instrument for ensuring the quality of PVC window profile systems and their system components. The Gütegemeinschaft Kunststoff-Fensterprofilsysteme has developed quality and test requirements (QTR) to that end. Manufacturers who wish to acquire the quality mark undertake to have their products and associated manufacturing processes monitored regularly by authorised inspection bodies.

Quality assurance covers the entire value chain of PVC window profile systems: from the raw material through the components to the profile system. That means you as a consumer, window maker or designer can be confident that the window profile systems, including components such as gaskets, adhesives and films, conform to the very latest state of the art and will have a long life. For more about the individual system components, read here.

For more about the requirements for quality assurance and membership of the Gütegemeinschaft, please refer to the statutes of our association.

Quality mark

The RAL quality mark for PVC window profile systems is a seal of quality. A product carrying this mark meets all the requirements laid down in the Quality and Test Requirements of the RAL Gütegemeinschaft Kunststoff-Fensterprofilsysteme. These requirements extend beyond those set out in the relevant standards. That is why quality marks are specified in purchasing and contract award procedures, for instance, and serve as an aid for developers. Quality assurance basically includes an initial inspection and ongoing external monitoring of the system. As far as the components used in the system are concerned, an initial test is also carried out here, in addition to regular factory production control by the manufacturer and neutral external monitoring by an external inspection body.

Quality features

All quality-determining features of a PVC window profile system are designed for long-term usability. This means that even after 40 years and longer, window frames are usually fully functional.

To demonstrate suitability for continued use in the initial type test, the following requirements are set and tested:

  • the content of the system description;
  • the properties of the adhesive in bonded systems;
  • the mutual compatibility of the components in bonded systems;
  • continued functionality and leaktightness on specimen windows of the maximum size;
  • properties such as burglar resistance, thermal and sound insulation, and ventilation properties;
  • the use of quality-assured components in the quality-assured profile system.

 

In future properties such as a healthy interior climate and the environmental impact of the PVC window profile system will be added to the quality-defining features. For more on the subject of sustainable construction products, click here.

RAL – Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung

The concept of voluntary quality assurance has been around since 1925. The quality associations work together with businesses, institutes and experts to formulate their quality and test requirements in accordance with the RAL statutes and regulations. As part of a recognition procedure, these are assessed and recognised by independent technical and official bodies throughout Germany. In addition to the Bundesamt für Materialforschung, they include test institutes, associations and experts in the field. Detailed information on RAL quality assurance can be found on the RAL website  and in the brochure RAL Quality Assurance System.

The 80 seconds video summarizes the system of the RAL Quality Mark:

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